Justin Houtz

Judges 3, Hebrews 10

DateVersionReading Plan
August 2, 2025ESV (2016)OT/NT Plan 2025 – 2027

Judges 3

Observation & Interpretation

Judges 3:8, 14 – The people served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years and later served Eglon for eighteen years.

Judges 3:2 – The nations were left in order that the generations of the people might know war.

  • All the various inhabitants of the land of Canaan were intended to serve as a testing ground for God’s people…The LORD allowed these people to remain in the land to enable his peopole to learn warfare and to see the LORD’s faithfulness first hand, as well as to test their commitment to serve him alone. But they failed the test. (CSB Notes)

Judges 3:9 – The first judge to be raised by the LORD was Othniel, Caleb’s nephew

  • Othniel had previous taken Kirjath (city of the book), turning it to Debir (a living oracle). This is what faith does with God’s Word. (BBC)
  • In the OT the language of “forgetting” and “remembering” is used often with reference to covenant faithfulness, not with loss or gain or memory. (ESVEC – Comment)

Judges 3:19 – In Ehud’s meeting with Eglon, the author mentions that Ehud turned back at the idols near Gilgal

  • Significantly, the landmark that identified Israelite territory was the carved images near Gilgal, a telling pointer to the state of Israelite worship in those days.

Judges 3:23 – After killing Eglon, Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

Hebrews 10

Observation & Interpretation

Heb. 10:1 – The law has but a shadow of things to come and can never, by continual sacrifices, make perfect those who draw near.

  • The sacrifices were utterly unable to perfect worshipers, that is, they never gave the people a perfect conscience as far as sin was concerned. The Israelites never enjoyed the consciousness of being cleared forever from the guilt of sin. They never had complete rest of conscience. (BBC)

Heb. 10:4, 11 – Repeated is the understanding that continual animal sacrifices can never take away sins.

  • These sacrifices dealt with ritual errors. They gave a certain ceremonial cleansing but they were utter failures as far as providing satisfaction for man’s corrupt nature or for his evil deeds. (BBC)

Heb. 10:18 – Forgiveness of sin → no longer any offering for sin.

  • The promise of forgiveness under the New Covenant means there is no longer an offering for sin. (BBC)

Heb. 10:19-25 – The author expresses multiple imperatives.

  • Due to the boldness that believers have to enter the divine presence through the perfect sacrifice of Christ, the author commands his readers to: (1) draw near to God with assurance, (2) hold onto their confession without wavering, and (3) watch out for one another and not forsake the gathering of the church. (CSB Notes)

Heb. 10:34 – The author describes their compassion and joyful acceptance of the plundering of their property because they knew they had a better possession.

  • When their goods were confiscated by the authorities, they accepted it joyfully. They chose to be true to Jesus rather than keep their material possessions. They knew that they had “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away.” (1 Pet. 1:4). It was truly a miracle of divine grace that enabled them to value earthly wealth so lightly. (BBC)

Application

Heb. 10:1-10 – Full forgiveness granted freely draws us close to God and moves us to eager obedience. (ESVEC – Response)

Heb. 10:11-18 – As we rest in the sufficiency of Christ’s blood to remove our guilt, we will submit gladly to his heavenly reign. Trust and obey. (ESVEC – Response)

Resources